Thievery! Sometimes... I Wonder About the State of the World, and PEOPLE in it

As regulars to these pages possibly remember, one of the many "hats" I wear is that of being proprietor of a small art gallery here in our home town.

Sometimes the world-- and the people in it-- simply amaze me.

Our Thieving Nature?

This morning, I arrived at work and did my usual sweeping of the common corridor in front of four adjacent shops. I noticed a couple of clipped cable ties on the debris. Seemed like a rather odd thing... so I looked around, and then realized that someone had actually taken the time to cut down and steal a spotlight moounted to one of the beams outside.

Now... understand, this wasn't just your casual "walk and grab" of some loose object... this was someone who actually had to stop, get a tool out and cut a couple of stout nylon cable ties to get the spotlight.

Meanwhile, the proprietor of the neighboring shop keeps a nice little fountain outside her shop. A few weeks ago, in broad daylight-- during opening hours-- someone walked off with a stone Buddha statue that was part of the fountain.

OK, so it's pretty ballsy to walk off with an 8lb stone figure in the middle of the day... but to steal a BUDDHA figure? That person's Karma must be heading towards rock bottom-- if you believe in that sort of thing.

Same neighbor also told me that she had had a couple of small items-- that were originally gifts to her-- shoplifted right off her sales counter, possibly even while she was standing there.

Thinking... and Not Thinking

In talking to a friend of mine who allegedly "knows things," I grudgingly have come to understand that people steal from small shops because "it's easier" than risking the dozens of security cameras and staff at WalMart and other large chain stores. 

Things are a little different from my seat... I can see being able to rationalize stealing from WalMart because you can say you are "sticking it to the man," and all your pilfering is doing is making the size of some executive's yacht slightly smaller. For a small store, theft may mean the difference between being able to pay the electric bill... or not. 

But that requires someone to be consciously thinking about-- and accountable for--their actions, and that's probably an oxymoron, in the context of stealing.

The thing I don't get here, though... stealing a small stone Buddha Statue? Stealing a spotlight? That's neither like stealing a loaf of bread and a steak because you're actually hard up and starving.... nor is it like stealing a TV or an expensive watch so you can pawn if for drug money. Or whatever.

These things make no sense to me, at all. As much as anything... these incidents suggest either "stealing as a hobby" or "stealing because you feel entitled." 

Both of which are approaches that make me feel rather sad, and worried about the state of the world, and the people IN it.

What do YOU think? Do the above strike you as "odd" things to steal? Do you believe "petty crime" is on the rise? Do you think it's related to a poor economic situation, in general? If you believe in such things, what do you think stealing a Buddha figure would do to someone's karma? DO you believe there are occasions on which stealing is OK? If so, what are they, and why? Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- be part of the conversation!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20170823 18:11 PDT